What We Need
by Lady of Dov
Summary: Vilkas' first love had always been justice. Now he is finding that love challenged by a thieving, whip-weilding femme-fatal. If only she weren't his last hope to catch a murderer.
1. Bothers, Thieves, and Threats

_This story was going to be called **Femme Fatale** before it had been published._

_A very long opening chapter with a lot of information._

* * *

Right now, there was a band of criminals loose in Skyrim- an awful group of such infamy that has not existed since the golden age of the Dark Brotherhood. The criminals- these killers- have succeeded in dozens of murders within seven holds in not even two months time. By now, all nine holds have been made aware of this faction; all making desperate efforts to catch individuals in this group before they struck again. All efforts had been pountless though with how scruptous the murderers were about avoiding detection. There wasn't even any consistent pattern or rate of murder to allow some extent of predictability. A killer would strike one night in the Reach and three days later someone in the Pale would find their family's throats slit in broad daylight. The Butcher of Windhelm, who had been brought to justice half a year ago, killed only young women. is organization, by all means, seemed took the lives of whomever he or she pleased whenever it pleased them.

The only way murders and mysterious deaths or disappearances could ever be attributed to this faction were through the sigils that would be left with victims or carved or written onto surfaces near by them.

You could see how the killers, the Wayward as they had been named by the holds, were changing Skyrim. Everywhere you went, you could see how guarded people were becoming. Seeing children playing out on the streets or women gathering upon their porches to talk was becoming a rarer sight with every week. Few of those who had business to conduct outside of their home to their time completing it before returning to their families. Travel was coming to a halt. Demand for the newest and highest quality locks had exploded and smiths were becoming buried under orders, unable to keep up. Guards stopped to bagger every unfamiliar face or funny look with questions.

Vilkas had to stop himself from groaning aloud for the twentieth time that day.

The worst band of organized assassins in ages was out there, yet here he was, galloping along to Solitude. And what for: a petty thieving problem! To make matters worse, he was asked by Kodlak to bring their newest whelp, Jay, with him. And he would not disrespect the Harbinger by refusing to follow through such a simple request.

The Companions were looking into the murders, of course. Skjor and Aela had volunteered to set aside their usual contract work for the time being and start their own private search for those within the Wayward, hoping the advantages they had in being werewolf and skilled warrior-hunters would be of use.

"Vilkas?" Jay asked uneasily.

Vilkas groaned this time. The worst part about this whole damn trip to Solitude was that he had been asked to drag the newest whelp, Jay, with him.

"What?" he snapped.

"Uh... Not that it really matters or anything, but are you okay? Uh, wait I didn't mean it that way..." he sighed. "J-just, ugh! After Kodlak gave you this job you looked pretty angry."

"I'm not." he scowled.

"Are you sure? You've been sighing ever since we left Whiterun. And that was yesterday."

"I have _not_."

"No, you have."

Vilkas snapped his head around and glared murderously at the whelp.

"Never mind, then." Jay quickly said. He straightened himself and turned to look ahead.

"We're... here," the runt mumbled once the city was in sight.

Vilkas' only reply was in deepening his scowl and, until they made it to the city gate, said nothing.

"Halt! Who are you two? Why are you here?" A guard badgered them.

The two had already stopped their horses before the guard had spoken, but it did not stop him and three others from briskly approaching them.

"I had asked you-"

"I am Vilkas, a member of the Circle within the Companions. I'm sure you've heard of me." The man answered as he dismounted his horse. He planted his feet on the ground and looked challengingly at the one who had questioned him.

The guard stood his ground, "And what is your business in Solitude?"

"I am here to aid Solitude in catching an elusive thief pestering the city. On request of Aldis, Solitude's Captain of Sentinel, if I might add."

"Very well. Who is this, then?" The guard gestured to Jay.

The fool opened his mouth to answer for himself, but was cut off by Vilkas.

"This is Jay. Our most recent whelp."

"Is that so?" The guard chortled.

Vilkas frowned deeper. "Yes, it is so."

"Alright, let's get you inside."

-/\/|X|\/\-

The two had been privileged to stable their horses within city with those belonging to the local guards thanks to their status as Companions. Afterwards they had left to visit the office of Solitude's head of law. The entire time, Jay had remained silent, so Vilkas had not thought that it was necessary to remind him to hold his tongue. But not long after they entered Aldis' office and had been offered a seat by the Captain, Vilkas realized he had made a mistake.

"Do not insult the Captain, new blood." Vilkas spat at Jay in a hushed tone, trying to control his irritation with the boy. This was why he hated bringing others along with him on contracts, especially these blundering daisies.

He continued with his chastisement, "Of course the Captain is sure that they have exhausted all other options in trying to catch the thief! They would not be requesting our help, otherwise."

"But I had just-"

Vilkas' gaze bore into the boy, challenging him to speak any further.

"Never mind, then." He said quickly.

Vilkas looked back to Aldis, signaling for the man to continue.

Aldis cleared his throat. "And since we have exhausted all other options, we've no choice but to try... a stake out."

"A _stake out?_"

The Captain chuckled, a low rumble in his chest. "I know how you feel about these things, Vilkas. Stake outs, ambushes. Attacking from the shadows like an honor-less coward. And to be honest, I think the same. So believe me when I say that this is always our last resort when dealing with a thief."

"I take your word for it, Captain. So let's hear about this stake out of yours."

The Captain moved to pull a narrow, lacquered wooden box out from his desk and place it before the warriors.

"Thieves can be a tricky breed when they happen to have minds wittier than their tongues," he said. "But a rat is still a rat, no matter how clever they might be. All you need is a little bait and, suddenly, there's no difference between the sharp and the dull."

Vilkas couldn't put his finger on it, but he found something about the man's speech off. He decided to disregard it for now, though.

Aldis opened the box, revealing a dozen tear-drop shaped gemstones of various shades of blue, each the size of a hen's egg.

Aldis continued as Vilkas observed the jewels, "'The Petals of Berenziah,' this little treasure is called. Ancient blue diamonds mined from Morrowind- one of the rarest form of gemstone in Tamriel. It's said that these were once set in the first crown that had ever belonged to queen Berenziah, which was a gift from her lover, Tiber Septim. There's no explaination for how the gems ultimately ended up in the poccession of the Septim family. Nevertheless, they are still a priceless treasure of the Septim family and their value goes far beyond their simple material worth, as you can well imagine."

"See, I know you choose to risk some sort of wealth because there is no other way to guarantee the greedy sneak won't be seeking lesser loot somewhere other than where we want. What I want to know is-"

"How can we expect the sneak to walk into our trap when they aren't even the slightest bit aware about what we're luring them with,'" Aldis asked, recieving a nod from the Companion.

Vilkas was actually going to ask why he had choosen such a pricelss treasure to act as his bait. Of course the item had to be attractive if the trap was ever going to work. But it he seemed to be really over-doing it by risking something so invaluable as a Septim dynasty relic. Again, Vilkas decided to disregard the Captain's odd behavior. This wasn't the time or the place to question him.

"Aye," Aldis continued. "The only way we can insure that the thief will be where we want tonight is if we can make sure our bait is better than any loot they can get else where.

"And as for your point," Aldis grinned conspiratorially. "We made sure that the thief learned about this fine fortune. As I had asked her, the Jarl paraded our streets at mid-morning today, wearing these gems which had been set in a simple crown of gold wire for the event. She did damn excellently in making sure they didn't go unnoticed as well. The woman never wasted an oppurtunity to tell anyone she stopped to chat with about the diamonds and their history. Even if the thief never saw them, thanks to the amount of excited talk the jewels have generated with our citizens, the thief surely has by now heard what treasure is being locked away within the Blue Palace tonight.

"I had spent the past three days rigorously planning the traps we will plant throughout the castle."

Aldis moved to retrieve a roll of paper on a shelf behind his desk, spreading it out on the surface as he continued speaking. The roll was a map of the Blue Palace's entire campus, displaying the whole courtyard and giving details on the interior of the castle.

"I've had Falk inform me of all spy holes and listening pipes in the structure's walls as well as every hidden room we can hide guards in. I've consulted the royal mage, who has whipped up a few traps of her own while weaving illusions over other conventional snares so they'll be unseen. She even found a little trick she's applied to them which will alert her every time a trap is activated. I am going to capture this weasel before midnight is upon us.

"Within the castle there will be three layers of defense in the form of traps. Since the rat has already broke into the palace, we will keep the amount of guards patroling the halls as it was then. The rest will be stationed in hidden rooms, so if the thief springs a trap and manages to get out of it, we will have the guards alerted. They will then come out of hiding and begin their own searches. We are hoping that surprising the thief with a sudden doubling of the number of guards will be sufficient to trap them, at the very least.

"If they still somehow manage to get by all that. Then our last hope is the patrols we will have stationed outside. After these past few weeks, it's come to seem that my men can't handle vigilantly watching anything outside of a five foot radius around them. That's why want to have you, Vilkas, stationed outside here," Aldis pointed to an area on the map outside of the place. "I want you to check in with me at the palace courtyard no later than dusk, tonight. Bring the lad there with you if you want."

It only took a moment for Vilkas to imagine the milksop opening his month, distracting him from his watch duty. And after today it was clear that the needle-bodied dimwit couldn't keep his mouth clamped even when it mattered.

"I rather have him elsewhere," Vilkas replied.

"Hmm. Well, we could use another person right in this area."

After Jay nodded his understanding of his orders, Aldis began rolling the map back up to place it back on his shelf.

"So, what are your thoughts on this plan?"

For a moment, the two Companions only continued to look at the man as if he had gone mad.

"It all a little excessive," Jay said uneasily.

Even though Vilkas had been sharing similar thoughts with the boy, the fact that he had either the audicity or ignorance to voice them still incensed him.

"For a thief, this is-"

"Get out, Jay," Vilkas said.

"Oh, no! I wasn't meaning to be rude, I just-"

Vilkas swept his head to the side and stared at the new blood.

"Get out, Jay."

Jay looked down and quickly stood. "Alright, then."

Once Jay was out of the room, Vilkas kneeled forward in his chair and rubbed his temples, tiredly.

"My apologies," he said to the Captain.

"Aye, but the lad is right. And you, of all people, know it." Aldis slumped back down into his chair, his appearance mirroring the mental exhuastion displayed by Vilkas.

Vilkas did his best to hide his annoyance and detestation with the whole situation when he spoke.

"Why, Aldis," he asked. "I know you're a rational man and that I can trust your judgment, but this is unlike you. Every time you've mentioned the criminal today, you've spoken as if your city is being plagued by an assassin or devil rather than a common thief, albeit an elusive one. And me? You had requested me to come here by name. What makes you think you will need me for this trap of yours? I do respect you, Captain, and will do any favor you ask of me. But for a job that requires little more than waiting and being alert to one's surroundings, just about any damn fool would have been satisfactory. Hell, for the amount you paid to get me to come here, you could have hired twenty pairs of hands."

The Captain nodded, frowning for a moment before he opened his eyes and replied tiredly.

"Make no mistake, Companion, this is no ordinary sneak. I've never seen anything like it. This person will break into homes night or day going utterly unnoticed. He or she fools locks of master-make without leaving any signs of wear left on the faces of them. They manage to pluck rings and pendants, even whole meters of chain strung with gems, off people while they dine with friends at pubs and inns. Windows show no signs of being tampered with and foot prints are never left in the plots of dirt outside of the homes. Alertful lines remain unsprung. Shingles remain untampered. And my jail lies empty.

"We might as well be chasing a phantom with the way they move through rooms without anyone catching a sound or sight of them, apparently. Whether or not the people are awake doesn't seem to matter either. Oh, and neither does being a house-mutt. Little beasts have been of no help whatsoever. No matter what it is, the thief gets by just the same."

"You had never told me how long this has been going on?"

"Three weeks. But we should have been able to nab them by now- or at least find a few traces to their identity with how restless they've been!"

"Just how restless, exactly?"

"Several sprees a day, from dawn to dusk. Any hour, really. Pockets, homes, shops, museums, even our palace! We've had more than enough opportunities to capture or track this pest with that amount of activity!"

"Do you know if the thief is working alone? I couldn't imagine a thief having so much skill or luck that they could accomplish so much on their own."

"It's a possibility but one that we're all finding hard to fathom. They just seem to have too much knowledge about where they raid and what to avoid to not have some sort of informant at the very least.

"Could it be the Thieves Guild?"

Aldis scoffed. "Those two-bit bandits haven't had the spine to infiltrate my fortress for nearly a decade now. I can't rule them out, but I have my reasons to doubt that it's them. When things started to go bottom-up for the Guild, they had all learned damn fast how hard it was to get away with theft in Solitude. But even if it were, our problem doesn't become any more solvable. They're still scum and they will not get away with what they've done here. I will have them locked in a cage and merrily slice through the tendons of their wrists when this is all said and done."

"Your interest in all this... it looks pretty personal."

"_Personal?_ This city is my pride and joy. In my time over-seeing it, Solitude had always boasted the lowest rates of property crime in the bloody country! There was nowhere in Skyrim safer for wealthy individuals or merchants. That was the reason we always had more merchants dealing luxury wares in these walls than in all of the other capitals combined!

"Suddenly, a thief walks into my city and in a matter of weeks steals over 70,000 septims in goods from the citizens I've vowed to protect. In less than a month, they take away a reputation that I've fought to earn and protect for the past thirty years of my life. And who's ever doing this, is doing so to taunt me. I can't explain it, but they're toying with me, I just know it.

"This can't go on for much longer, Companion. That's why you're here. That blasted, over-fussing lass for a Jarl we have here and her nanny have already lost faith in my competence. I had only requested you to come here because it was what Elisif had demanded of me."

"They think that I'll be more likely to solve this issue than you?"

"Who knows what those two think? But, aye. That I can imagine. Those of you in the Circle are well-deserving of your rank. I don't know what it is about you, but you all happen to be the best when it comes to tracking or weeding out criminals. I've heard the stories, when I haven't seen it myself. Whether it's some special trick or secret you've got, or just unfailing dumb luck, we can sure use some of it tonight... I could use it. The Jarl and her Steward aren't the only people within this city who are starting to question my capability as Captain of Solitude's Sentinel. I've gotten some nasty words from some victims who have gotten tired of waiting patiently."

"I see..."

"The thief must be caught tonight, Vilkas. There is no other option for me at this point."

"It won't end any other way, Captain. I promise you. We'll have that blasted thief in chains before the night is over!" Vilkas vowed. "Besides, with all the planning you've done, even Noctural herself wouldn't dream of being able to escape with those diamonds."

Vilkas was having what was these days a rare moment of compassion. The two were alike in a number of ways. Both were fiercely dedicated, no-nonsense men who had an intense passion for justice and carried a certain level of austerity most others found hard to swallow . So to see someone so like himself in such a predicament, having his career and honor threatened by a common criminal, touched a nerve in him. He had already decided that he was going to find the thief for Aldis, and when Vilkas decided something, he couldn't be swayed.

"It had better or I'll be the one put in chains. Let's hope that luck of your's is with us tonight, Companion."

Vilkas smiled. While he still regretted the choice he had made to accept the his blood-curse so many years ago, there were certain times- such as this one- when the curse had its uses. All he needed was a scent.

* * *

_I don't know how this had ended up so long. O-O_

_What do you all think about Vilkas? Real stiff, ay? And what about Jay?_

_Next chapter, Vilkas meets his lady. ;)_

_Thanks for reading and **please review!**_


	2. Something Else

_Sorry for how long awaited this chapter was guys. I had a hard time with a few things in weiting it and am not entirely pleased with the outcome, so changes might be made in the future._

* * *

It was around sunset and Vilkas had been sitting within the Winking Skeever's mead hall, reading a book to pass the time, when the very thing which would change his life forever fell right into his lap. Quite literally.

Vilkas scowled up at the svelte woman who had just seated herself upon his lap.

"I'm trying to read, if you don't mind," Vilkas said anything but politely.

"No need to act as if I've interrupted you. You and I both know that you've already read that little book of your's."

"Ah," Vilkas narrowed his eyes. He was not in the mood for games with cheap bar wenches, or what ever this woman was, but he was always one to be easily sucked into an argument.

He challenged her, "And just how is it that you know this isn't my first time reading this, hmm?"

A corner of her lip curled upwards complacently before she answered in a tone revealing no intimidation with him, if there was any.

"For starters, you've shown an obvious lack of interest in it. You've been trying to read with your finger- a thing most do when they want to force their attention on what they're reading. It's made tracking the pace you've read at easy. You'll take whole minutes to read through one page and then your finger will travel back to the top as if you hadn't absorbed a word of it. Of course, you could be reading this book for the first time, and your boredom with the book could be just as simple as that. But given the fact that, every so often, you would flip through the pages while scanning them for something specific, I'd say you've read it in the past. So many times, I'd even wager, that you're a bit too familiar with the passages by now."

She quirked her head to the side with a smile baring a hint of smugness.

"That's a fair enough assessment, don't you think?"

"I think I'll have you off of me, _now_."

The woman smiled again, but other than that ignored him. He allowed it as she lightly picked the book he held out of his fingers. The man crossed his arms, glaring at her, as she read the title out loud.

"_Herbane's Bestiary: Hagravens_. Hmm," she read. She sighed and placed the book on the small table where Vilkas' tankard sat. "Now it's no wonder you're bored. That book was definitely something I could have gone my whole life without reading."

Vilkas bristled, "Ignorant wench. Of course you would have no respect for such a record of wisdom?"

"Record of wisdom? Is that what you call this?"

"The whole collection informs warriors, like myself, about many of the dangerous creatures inhabiting Tamriel while sharing advice which could spare your life when slaying them. And you question that it's record of wisdom?"

The woman threw back an airy laugh.

"No, dear, I don't question; I refute."

Vilkas huffed.

"Oh, alright! So you 'refute'. Well then, let's hear it- this _brilliant_ argument of yours."

Vilkas leaned back, crossing his arms again as he stared seethingly at the woman sitting upon him.

"Do I really need to? Page one is about that fool hearing of the hagraven and the next thirty-six contain nothing more than all the bogus stories from whatever person he happened to talk to along his journey there. The actual fight with the hagraven was scarcely half a page and didn't have a single helpful thing to say about fighting the witches."

"Hmpf. Well he still gave legitimate information about other dangers."

"Legitimate information? He thought the dwarves had been the size of children! Those books were nothing more than a know-nothing and his ego."

"Well," Vilkas started, trying to think of another argument. He must have thought for too long, though, as the woman was suddenly stroking his cheek.

"This conversation is awful boring, darling. Let's think of a new topic."

Her touch made everything about the current situation suddenly occur to Vilkas. Here he was, tense and tired from the stress of several long days of hasty travel, reclining in a tavern chair with a lovely lady in his lap. The part about the woman especially pleased him and may have been what caused his hands to place themselves on her hips.

The woman spoke again, yet whatever it was she said didn't make it to Vilkas' ears. But it did pull him out of his trance.

He blinked, cursing the woman with his thoughts.

"Get off of me," he growled, taking his hands off her blasted form.

"Hmm. Only if you tell me what it is that has you so distracted."

Vilkas seethed. Was she _toying_ with him?

"Pardon?" he narrowed his eyes as he pushed her hand away from his face.

"Oh, come now. You had to have something important on your mind before you came here, did you? You were constantly looking out that window to check the time for something."

"_Get off of me_."

The woman smiled, surprising Vilkas. Most people would have flinched back and obeyed him by now, but she didn't look the slightest bit intimidated.

In fact, she actually dipped her head just a touch closer to him, emphasizing her want for something.

"_Tell me_," she cooed.

Vilkas thought it over and decided that it was probably best to just give the awful wench what she wanted and be done with her.

"Just a favor for the Captain of Sentinel."

"Hmm. Now would it by chance have anything to do with that troublesome theif which has been looting this town?"

"Aye," Vilkas rolled his eyes.

"I take it you don't like dealing with theft problems?"

"They're all lazy cowards without an ounce of honor in their spineless hides. Dealing with them is nothing but a good waste of my damn time and skill."

"Ooh. A little cocky, are we?"

Vilkas scoffed, "_Cocky?_ I'll have you know that I am one of the Circle within the Companions, woman!"

The woman smiled, this time showing her teeth. She looked as if she had found his little out burst entertaining and couldn't hide her amusement.

"You doubt it?" he growled.

"Oh no, sir. I believe you... It's just that I've never heard of these Companions. I'm guessing they're some sort of mercenary guild."

"One with a code of ethics."

"A mercenary with a code of ethics who evidently likes to read. You do like reading, do you?"

"Yes," he sighed. "I do."

"Well in that case, I would recommend reading Life of Tamriel by Sintaba, if your looking for a bestiary. Out of all that I've read, that one was by far the best. You can actually gain something from it."

"You... read?"

The woman laughed, "Is that surprise I'm hearing?"

Vilkas cleared his throat, feeling himself in danger of slipping into that odd trance again.  
"No, no," he said. "It's just... well, I haven't met many women who enjoyed books or history and... er, you understand."

In fact, Vilkas had never met a woman like her at all and had to admit that he was feeling more than a little attracted to her at the moment. Much more.

Busty tavern maids were as obnoxious and loud as they were dumb. Noble girls were whiny, self-important snobs who, and he didn't care what anyone else might say, were every bit as stupid as commoners. Shy farm lasses. Zealous war maidens. Awkward mages. Chatty merchants. Bards. Labor women. There was always something wrong with them. But this woman, she was something else entirely.

And whatever that was, he was having a hard time figuring out. He had met few people his age with an interest in knowledge, but none had been women. Perhaps if he had been a more social sort of man he would have ran into a woman like this one sooner. He doubted this, though. There was more about this woman than her intelligence that set her apart from other ladies.

She had a sort of confidence about her that wasn't self-righteous but instead simply dignified. She dressed in a fitted black tunic and leggings, both of which were simple and understated. No embroidery, no fur or beading, no elaborate layers of fabric. And yet the clothing, whether it was the quality of the fabric or stitching, hinted at wealth. She did not dress her hair, instead letting it fall past the tops of her shoulders. She wore no jewelry either, other than a thin band of silver on her finger, which made it all the more difficult to tell what this woman was exactly. Her poise and posture suggested nobility, yet she didn't act anything like any noble Vilkas had known in the past.

Whoever this woman was, Vilkas was finding himself hopelessly attracted to her. If he had been thinking about their whole exchange moments ago, he might have found his current infatuation with her ridiculous. He might have, if he did not find her desire and capability to argue with him so... adorable.

He wanted to know this woman. To have conversations with her, meaningful, intellectual ones. Vilkas couldn't remember the last time he had-

"I'm sorry," he asked, feeling foolish. "What was that?"

"I had just asked if everyth-"

While the woman spoke, she moved her left hand to Vilkas' shoulder, causing him to bark in pain once the silver ring made short contact with the skin on his neck.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing!" he stammered, rubbing his neck where the welt was starting to form to address both the pain and his desire to hide the injury.

The woman continued to look at him with a quizzical gaze as he berated himself for being such a fool as to allow this to happen.

"I see... Well, as much as I'd like to stay," the woman said, rising to her feet. "I have other things I ought to be getting to this evening."

"Already?" he asked, standing up to follow her. He did not want her to leave yet.

"Well, I can't stay forever. It would be terribly rude of me if I were not to arrive on time to dine with my gracious host. It's already past sun down."

Vilkas glaced out the window, cursing when he saw that she was right. He was going to be late for the stake out.

"Wait, maybe we could arrange to meet tomorrow?"

The corners of her lips curled again, as if she was trying to supress a smile.

"Tomorrow it is then," she said as she offered him a hand. "I'm Selena, by the way."

"Vilkas," he replied, taking her hand in his. He wanted to hit himself once he let go, realizing he wasted an oppurtunity to do something charming such as planting a kiss on the back of her hand.

"It was nice to meet you, Vilkas. Until tomorrow."

* * *

_Find Vilkas a girl who's pretty, and he won't care less. Find him one who's smart, and he'll be drooling._

_For anybody who might be annoyed by my choice of name for my OC; I'd just like to remind them that I'm terribly lazy when it comes to naming. Come on, I named by "Robin," "Jay"._

_Thanks for reading and **please review!**_


	3. The Petals of Berenziah

"Where the hell have you been?" the Captain shouted, looking at his wits end.  
Vilkas opened his mouth to speak, but shut it right away, thinking better of it. What was he going to tell the Captain?

"My apologies, Captain," finally said, feeling his face burn with shame.

Aldis took a deep breath while closing his eyes; trying to relax himself, Vilkas guessed.

He waved Vilkas off, sighing, "Well, you're here now. So lets just catch this piece of slime and be done with it, 'eh?"

Vilkas nodded, heading off to his position outside the palace where he would wait all night, like all other guards patrolling the grounds, to detect absolutely nothing.

-/\/|X|\/\-

The sky had finally turned a shade of sapphire, when the whelp, Jay, came to Vilkas.

"Uh, Vilkas?" he said weakly.

When Jay found the man, he had been standing perfectly at attention. Jay didn't know what to really think of this and wondered if he had stood that way all night. The young man wouldn't have been surprised if that were the case.  
Vilkas snapped his head in the direction of the whelp, silently asking what he wanted.

Jay cleared his throat, "Cap- Captain Aldis is uh, calling for everyone to report to him. The stake out is over now."

Vilkas grunted and began to follow the boy back inside the castle.

"Any news?" he asked.

"None that I know of."

"Lets hope Aldis' extreme measures didn't scare the rat off, otherwise this whole trip will have been for naught."

Jay nodded, seeming as though he were trying to match Vilkas' erect posture as they walked.

Once inside the castle, they were directed by guards to the room which Aldis was awaiting them and other watch. They were also warned ahead of time that the Captain was not in a pleasant mood.

The guards did not lie. The pair walked into the room just as Aldis was slamming his fist onto a table.

"That's not a good enough explaination, _mage_," he shouted, red in the face. "You said those traps were invisible! Totally undetectable- that's what you told me! If they weren't detectable, why didn't the thief try stealing the gems last night?"

Sybille looked at the raging Captain, stone-faced as she sat daintily on her chair, drinking her morning tea.

"Because," she answered coolly, "they never entered the castle."

"Hogswash! They must have known! They must have! I have never in all my years ever seen or heard of a thief more ambitious than this! If they wanted those jewels, nothing would have stopped them from trying to get it!"

"Unless-"

"Don't waste my time, woman! If they had been caught outside the castle last night- I would have been informed as soon as it happened!"

"Oh, _pardon me_," she rolled her eyes.

"So," a deep voice resonated behind Vilkas, "where can the Jarl and I find this thief which has been plaguing this most grand city?"

The speaker appeared from behind Vilkas, just entering the room. The man had been Falk Firebeard, the Jarl's steward as Vilkas knew from the handful of times he had met him. Jarl Elisif followed behind her steward, her expression unreadable.

Falk went on speaking, his tone growing patronizing, "Oh, that's right. I can't, because the thief wasn't caught."

"Falk..."

The steward waved a hand at the Captain, "I don't want your excuses Aldis! And neither does the Jarl."

"We'll discuss what's to be done about this later," Elisif said in her annoyingly soft voice. "But for now, I want my jewels returned to me. I'm very disappointed in you, Captain."

"Er, yes, my Jarl." Aldis said, looking defeated.

The Captain moved to a safe placed at the end of the room. It took him only a few moments to unlock it and swing the door open. The whole assembly watched as he pulled another safe out, this one smaller. After he had turned it's three locks with the necessary keys, Sybille spoke up.

"Let me handle that one," she said as she crossed over to the Captain.

"Right, right," Aldis grumbled.

A moment later Sybille handed the Captain a strong box looking as if it had been constructed out of ebony. Jay and Vilkas shared a look as they watched Aldis pull one final box out of the ebony strong box, the narrow one they had seen the jewels in the day before.

Aldis made his way back over to his Jarl, presenting the box to her.

"Thank you, Captain," she said as her steward took the box.

"Of course, your grace."

Aldis walked past the Jarl and steward, all but dragging his feet to Vilkas and the whelp ten feet away.

"I think today is the last I shall be called 'Captain'," he sighed, pressing a hand to his temple.

Vilkas shifted uncomfortably, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Aldis. This is the first time something like this has happened to you... I'm sure the Jarl will look past it if you just give her some time."

Aldis scoffed, "I'm not so sure. Even if she does I'll never be able to hold my head-"

Aldis was interrupted by a sudden gasp from Elisif. All eyes turned to face the Jarl, who was staring at the box she had just opened.

"The jewels..." she breathed, "they're..."

"Gone..." Falk finished, as aghast as the jarl he served.

Aldis was pale with fright, "W-_what?_"

He hurried over to the other two, his eyes scouring the box similarly.

Falk was the first to gather himself.

"Where are the Petals, _Aldis?_" he fumed.

"Sire," Aldis gulped, "I- I can assure you that I had returned them all to Elisif's custody an hour after noon, yesterday. And no one attempted to break into this castle last night."

"Then explain how the Petals are missing."

"I- don't know, sire... I don't know."

"Aldis," Elisif said, her tone as firm as Vilkas had ever heard it. "I don't think I can trust you with the responsibility of Captain of Solitude's Sentinel any longer... I'm removing you from your post as of now. For the time being, Falk, I'll give the responsibility to you."

Aldis lowered his head, "Yes, my Jarl. I understand."

The man cleared his throat and excused himself.

Vilkas couldn't remember a time in his life when he had been filled with a more righteous furry. He was going to catch the fool who had done this to Aldis and he was going to be sure that they were sorry for what they had done.

"Jarl Elisif," Vilkas said.

"Yes, Companion?"

"I'd like to examine the box and safes, if I may?"

"Of course."

Vilkas took the small box from her, smelling nothing at that moment. He brought the container closer to his face, hoping to appear as though he was trying to get a closer inspection of it.

Nothing.

That couldn't be right. He sniffed again, this time as deeply as he could without looking odd to the jarl and steward. But still, nothing. Nothing at all! Vilkas didn't understand how this could be.

_Perhaps this really is a phantom thief_, he thought.

He remembered the safes and strong box suddenly, moving to the safe after passing the wooden box to Jay, who tucked his thumbs into the insides.

But it was the same case with the box for all three. Vilkas continued to peer inside the safe for several moments, utterly bewildered.

"Impossible," he whispered.

"Companion?" Falk asked uneasily.

Vilkas rose to his feet, enraged.

"Jay," he shouted, "did you tell anyone about the plans for last night?!"

"No! Of course not," Jay replied, starting.

"What is this about, Vilkas?" Falk asked.

"Someone must have let loose some information about last night's plans. There's no other explanation for how this thief managed to get the gems!"

"I'd sooner imagine that Aldis took them! Or that some blasted guard did! You expect me to believe a thief could manage to get past all our snares and watches without anyone at least noticing?"

"I'm not telling you I know how they did it," Vilkas roared as he stormed out of the room. "But I swear to you by Ysgramor's crown that it wasn't Aldis!"

"Um, I better go follow him," Jay said after a moment, handing the box to Falk.

As he walked out of the Blue Palace he noticed an odd shimmering powder on the tips of his thumbs which he wiped away on his leather bracers.

-/\/|X|\/\-

Vilkas was sitting on an old bench in a dingy alley set apart from the busy streets of the city. He was kneeling foward with his head in his hands, trying to get his temper under control.

"Are you usually this upset, or has this just been a bad week for you?"

Vilkas smiled to himself.

_Selena._

* * *

_Thanks for reading and **please review!**_


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